Clothes-line prop.



0. M. REW.

CLOTHES LINE PROP.

uruoumx rum) 82M. 14, 1909.

Patented Aug. 16, 1910.

G. M. REW.

CLOTHES 1.1m: nor.

APPLIOATIOH FILED 8IiI-1".l.l4,'1909.

Patented Aug. 16,1910.

2 SHEETS-BHBBT 2.

Simmer fikarles/fifwr UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES M. REW, OF ROGERS, ARKANSAS, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO MARTHA L. REW, 0F ROGERS, ARKANSAS.

CLOTHES-LINE PROP.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. Rnw, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Rogers, in the county of Benton and State of Arkansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Line Props, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clothes line props, and one of the principal objects of the same is to provide a clothes line prop designed to be secured in the ground and connected to the clothes line, said prop being allowed a limited swaying motion with the wind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clothes prop adapted to sway from side to side and a spring means therefor to permit the swaying and means to limit the movement.

Still another object is to provide a prop having means to receive and support a clothes line, and means for adjusting the line in different elevated positions.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a clothes prop made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the upper end of the clothes prop. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view of the lower end of the prop, portions being broken away to better show the construction. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the upper end of the prop, the rope being removed. Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the upper end of the prop, the rope being removed, and Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the main portion of the prop having at its upper end a pair of spaced members 2, 3, the upper end of the member 2 being extended outwardly, as at 4, and comprising two parallel portions between which a grooved pulley 5 is mounted upon a bolt 6. A sliding block is mounted between the members 2, 3, said block having outwardly extending side portionsS which lie upon the opposite sides of the members 2 and 3. The block 7 is provided with an upwardly extending lug 9, and connected to this lug is a rope 10 which passes around the pulley 5. Connected to the rope 10 is a chain 11, said chain comprising a series of links any one of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 14, 1909.

Patented Aug. 16, 1910. Serial No. 517,689.

which is adapted to be connected to a hook 12 having a rectangular portion 13 provided with an upwardly extending bill or terminal 14 to engage any one of the links of a chain to hold the block 7 at any required elevation. A lug 15 projects downward from the block 7, said lugs being provided with a hole 16 through which the clothes line extends, said clothes line being either of wire or of rope, as required. At the lower end of the member 1 an offset arm 17 is provided, said arm having an inwardly extending pintle 18 which is pivotally mounted in a stake or join 19, said pin having a pointed lower end 20 adapted to be driven into the ground. A disk 21 provided with a central hole through which the pin 19 passes is adapted to rest flat upon the ground and to prevent the pin from moving from side to side. In the upper end of the pin 19 is a socket 22, while a similar socket 23 is formed in a base 24: formed upon the shoulder 25 in line with the member 1. A flat steel spring 26 has its opposite ends formed into round bearing members 27 adapted to fit in the sockets 22 and 23, said bearing members being held in said sockets by means of cotter pins 28. The opposite ends of the spring adjacent to the bearing members 27 are provided with enlargements 29, as shown in Fig. 1. Oppositely disposed stops 30 are secured to the arm 17 and extend outward therefrom and are disposed upon opposite sides of the stake 19.

The operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows :-VVhen it is desired to lower the clothes line for the purpose of hanging the clothes thereon, the chain 11 is disengaged from the hook 12 and the weight of the block 7, and the clothes line will by gravity descend to a position between the two members 2 and 3 to permit the clothes to be readily hung upon the line, after which the chain 11 is grasped and the line is elevated at any desired height, and one of the links of said chain being connected to the hook 12. When the wind blows the clothes from either direction, the memher 1 sways back and forth and is limited in its action by stops 30 which come in contact with the opposite sides of the stake 19, the spring 26 serving to cushion the movement of the prop at the limits of its swaying movement. After the clothes have been removed from the line, the block 7 may be again elevated to be out of the way of persons desiring to pass under the line.

i From the foregoing, it will be obvious that a clothes prop made in accordance with my invention can be manufactured at low cost, is always ready for use, will hold the clothes line up out of the way when not in use, can be readily lowered for hanging the clothes on the line, cannot be blown down and will hold the clothes so as to permit a resilient swaying action to the prop.

I claim:

1. A clothes prop comprising a stake, a prop member pivotally mounted upon the stake, a spring connected to said member and to said stake, stops for limiting the swaying motion of the prop, ablock mount- 1 ed to slide on the prop and adapted to carry In' testimony whereof I afiix my signal ture in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES M.-REVV.

Witnesses;

JNo; R. SIKES, J M. DENEBERRY. 

